


Eternal Happiness

by sapphicsapphire



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: M/M, almost makes you forget the show is about murder, cheesy rom com shit, i mean really this is pure fluff, key word being almost there is a little bit of canon typical violence, these two deserve good things and by god am i going to give it to them, this is just mutual pining. that's it.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:34:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28448508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphicsapphire/pseuds/sapphicsapphire
Summary: Derek has been giving Spencer tiny paper cranes for months now. Little does Spencer know, they mean much more than he could ever hope... (it means love)
Relationships: Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid
Comments: 11
Kudos: 141





	Eternal Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> so many of y'all write derek has a badass, strong alpha male when he's canonically a softie. get with the fucking program.

The paper cranes had started appearing exactly six months, three weeks, and four days ago.

Reid had been having a truly awful day. There had been a power outage in the night, meaning his alarm didn't go off, and he woke up late. He didn't even have time for coffee as he ran out the door, making the overstimulation of public transit even more unbearable. By the time he finally made it in to the BAU, he was ready to turn right back around and collapse on his couch.

He all but threw his satchel by his desk and stormed his way into the break room, narrowly avoiding a full on collision with Morgan, and made a beeline for the coffee machine.

"Whoa kid! Slow down! Rough morning?" 

"And getting worse by the minute," Reid grumbled, seeing that there wasn't enough coffee left in the pot for a full cup. That was a lie, however, because Morgan was here, and it seemed like whenever Spencer was around him, all his worries melted away. (Plus, he was smiling at Reid, and dear  god  was his smile beautiful.)

Morgan laughed, and ruffled Reid's hair. "I'm sure that as soon as you're hooked up to your caffeine IV drip you'll be right as rain, kid." The touch was short, fleeting, and he tried not to fixate on it as his friend turned to leave the break room.

Reid only let his shoulders relax once he could no longer hear Morgan's retreating footsteps down the hall. He sighed, watching the coffee slowly drip down into the pot. He hated how out of control Morgan made him feel, like his mind wasn't his own. When he was around him, his presence was all Reid could think about. It was terribly inconvenient, since, you know,  _they work together_ . He'd never felt like this, ever, and he just wanted it to stop. But, against his wishes, the feelings were only growing stronger.

Spencer sighed dejectedly, and poured himself a cup of coffee, leaving room for an artery-clogging amount of sugar. He stared at the mug, as if the coffee would give him divine answers on how to not fall in love with his hot coworker. Unfortunately, his drink yielded none of it's secrets, and he was forced to go back to the bullpen and try not to stare at Morgan.

He didn't notice it when he first took a seat at his desk, too busy thinking about Morgan smiling at him. Once Reid forced himself to snap out of it, however, his eyes immediately locked onto the small paper crane sitting upon his keyboard. It was small, delicate, made out of a blue post-it note. It was folded with precision, clearly made by a pair of practiced hands. (All of the folds were done once, no refolds necessary. This person had experience with origami.) The paper crane was accompanied by a second, unfolded post-it note with a message written in a steady script;

_keep your chin up kid, wouldn't want to mess up that pretty hair of yours ;)_

Spencer felt his face flush a deep crimson as he recognized Morgan's handwriting. He ran the tip of his finger over the delicate paper beak of the small bird in front of him, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.He looked up, met Morgan's eyes, and smiled, mouthing a word of thanks. Morgan smiled back, and Spencer felt his heart jump into his throat. He could already feel that he wasn't going to be all that productive today.

They don't talk about it. Every time Spencer had a bad day, a really good day, a rough case, too much paperwork, anything at all, a little paper bird appeared on his desk. Morgan seemed to find any excuse to make Spencer a small paper crane, if only to see him smile. And they still don't talk about it. On Spencer's birthday, he arrives to see a crane made from beautiful, expensive looking gold foil. Even then, they don't talk about it, beyond a brief, blushy wish of gratitude in the elevator. 

He kept telling himself he'd make the effort and talk to Morgan about it. He knew he should. But Reid just couldn't bring himself to, in case it made the paper cranes stop coming, in case it made Morgan stop smiling at him softly across the room.

Spencer had finally managed to work up the courage to talk to his friend about it, when Derek gotten injured in the field.

It should have been a fairly routine case. Your average sociopath in a small Virginia town, a criminal history, and a witness and a partial license plate after the third abduction. Easy to profile, even easier to track down if you're Penelope Garcia. Everything should have been fine. The only real legwork they had to do was during the arrest, they hadn't even had to leave Quantico to work the case. But Morgan had been stupid, impulsive, diving into a fight without backup.

Reid rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes, trying to get rid of the image of his friend bleeding out in his arms. He'd ran in right after Morgan, but he was too slow. The guy had hit a vein with his knife, and Morgan was down, his blood pooling on the wooden floor. Reid took the shot without blinking, and ran to Derek's side, pressing down on the wound, trying to make the bleeding stop.

The hospital hadn't let anybody into Morgan's room yet, not until they were sure he was stable, and Reid was going stir crazy, locked up in Quantico, sitting at his desk, when Morgan was lying on a hospital bed, hurting, possibly  _dying_ and Spencer wasn't there. He dropped his hands to his desk, palms up, and although they were clean, his hands still felt dirty. He knew he'd washed off the blood, he knew it was gone, but he could still  feel it. The blood of the person he loved, his best friend, on his skin, under his nails. He couldn't bear it.

His eyes landed on one of Morgan's paper cranes, and a sudden, uncharacteristic burst of anger tore through him. Before he knew what he was doing, his hand fell upon the origami bird, crushing its delicate wings. Spencer gasped, and reached for the paper, shocked and upset with himself that he'd destroyed one of his friend's gifts. He reached for the crumpled paper and cradled it in his the palm of his hand, as if it were a real bird, made of flesh and blood and bone, instead of paper. He was examining the folds to see if he could repair the crane when he saw the words.

Poking out from underneath the wing of the crane were letters written in black pen. Carefully, Reid unfolded the bird, revealing a small message written in Morgan's steady script.

_ It's getting really hard not to touch you. You're driving me crazy, Spencer. _

Eyes wide, his hands shaking, he reached for the several dozen paper cranes adorning his desk. One by one, he unfolded them, and one by one, they yielded kind, heartbreaking notes from Morgan.

_ The sunlight hit your hair in a way that made you look like one of those Greek statues we saw at the Smithsonian. I don't think it's fair, how beautiful you are. _

_ I nearly lost you today, Spencer. Never do that to me again, my heart can't take it. _

_You brought me coffee this morning, and remembered just how I like it. It was a small thing, but I nearly kissed you then and there._

And, cradled inside the golden foil bird he'd received on his birthday, the most heart wrenching note of all;

_I love you. One day, I might be able to tell you in person. I love you, I love you, I love you._

They were sweet, and never ending, and Spencer almost had to stop reading them. Almost. Once he had read them all, and had committed Derek's words to memory, he felt like his heart was about to burst out of his chest. He reached for the golden crane, the only one where Morgan had written  _I love you_ , and slipped it into his pocket, before grabbing his satchel and rushing out of the bullpen. He impatiently pressed the elevator button over and over, before giving up and heading to the stairwell, running down a dozen storeys down to the main level and hailing a cab.

"I'll pay you double if you can get to Sibley Memorial Hospital in under forty five minutes," Spencer told the cabbie, running his thumb over the golden foil in his pocket, holding his friend's words in his heart.

_I love you, I love you, I love you_

After the most harrowing thirty six minutes of his life, Spencer was standing outside Derek's hospital room, his wallet significantly lighter, willing his legs to carry him through the door.

"Doctor Reid? You can go in now, Agent Morgan is stable."

The words of the nurse next to him brought Spencer back to his body, and, glad for the push, he finally stepped into Derek's room.

The moment he entered, his heart broke. Seeing Morgan in a hospital bed, connected to machines and wires, looking pallid and like a shadow of his normal self, never failed to shake Spencer. He hated seeing Derek hurt, and hated that the sight had become a regular occurrence.

"Spencer? You're here already? The nurse told me she hadn't called the BAU yet," Derek said, sounding confused. 

"I uh. Didn't know that they were allowing visitors in to see you before I left Quantico. I just- I really needed to see you."

Derek smiled reassuringly. "I'm okay, kid. It's gonna take a hell of a lot more to take me out than a pocket knife." 

"Don't talk like that," Spencer said, glaring at him.

"Oh? Then what should we talk about?" Morgan asked, in that pseudo-flirtatious voice that drove Reid crazy.

"Actually, I do have something to talk to you about," He replied. Spencer sat down in one of the chairs next to Derek's bed, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the unfolded paper crane.

Morgan paled visibly. "Oh."

"Derek-" Spencer started, trying to tell Morgan that he loved him too, but was swiftly interrupted.

"I'm so sorry pre- Spencer. I'm sorry. I just couldn't handle it, sitting so close to you every day and not being able to  say  anything. So I started to tell you how I felt through these little paper cranes, and when I saw how happy they made you, I couldn't stop. I will now though. God, I'm sorry I let it get this far." Morgan hung his head, determinedly avoiding Reid's eyes.

"I don't want you to stop."

Morgan looked up so fast he aggravated his newly stitched wound, and keeled over, groaning. Spencer kept out of his chair, leaning over the man opposite him, trying to help, but was waved off by Morgan, who insisted that he was okay. Reid didn't sit back down, however, and instead leaned closer, gently cupping Derek's face. Derek leaned into his touch, finally meeting Spencer's eyes.

"Derek Morgan, I'm in love with you," he said. Derek's eyes widened, before he surged forward, and finally,  _finally_ kissed Spencer. It was soft, gentle, full of love, and it was everything he'd dreamed it would be. It wasn't fireworks, it wasn't an explosion, it was like coming home.

Spencer pulled away, gasping for air, now fully in the hospital bed that was definitely not built to hold two adult men, and rested his forehead against Derek's.

"As much as I love your paper cranes, I wish you'd told me how you felt. We could have been doing this for months."

"Pretty boy, let me tell you, I've loved you longer than I've been giving you those little birds," Derek replied.

"Ah! I now have confirmation that you really do think I'm pretty!" Spencer said back, in his most annoying know-it-all voice.

Derek laughed. "You're such a little shit,  _that's_ what you got out of that?"

Instead of coming up with a clever remark, Spencer decided to kiss him. He could now, after all, and he had a lot of lost time to make up for.

* * *

A year later, Spencer was still receiving paper cranes. Good days, bad days, days where Derek was feeling especially sappy, even days that meant nothing at all, Spencer would get a small, post-it note paper crane. Then, Derek's professions of love were hidden away inside. Now, they were proudly displayed on the wing, for everyone to see.

Even if the notes were mundane, they were delivered on the wings of a crane. On days where Derek had to get in to the office early, Spencer would wake to a small bird on his boyfriend's pillow, and start his morning with a smile.

(Reid tried to learn how to make them too, so he could write notes back, but his fingers just weren't as deft as Morgan's. Instead, he repays every new crane with a kiss. Both parties are very fond of this system.) 

Spencer kept every single paper crane, but his absolute favourite was the one Derek had given him on their one-year anniversary. Derek delivered Spencer's favourite crane on one knee. Hanging delicately from the beak was a ring, and and on the wing, were the words  _ will you marry me? _

After he had said yes, and they kissed, and kissed again, Spencer looked at his fiancé (his fiancé!) and said "This is our thousandth paper crane."

"Yes, it is," Derek replied.

"Do you know what one thousand paper cranes symbolizes?" Spencer asked, smiling.

Derek smiled back.

"Eternal happiness."

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr! @gaylittlescientist


End file.
